Acubens is a white star at one of the claws of Cancer, named from the Arabic for the claws and lying so close to the Sun’s path that the Moon often covers it.
At a glance
| type | white star (class A) |
|---|---|
| distance from the Sun | 188 light-years (57.7 pc) |
| its light left it | 188 years ago |
| luminosity | 61.9 × the Sun |
| radius | 3.92 × the Sun |
| surface temperature | 8,180 K |
| constellation | Cancer (Crab) |
Read off the piece’s own catalogue, the same values it draws with.
About Acubens
The facts describe a white star, larger and more luminous than the Sun, at about the end of its hydrogen-burning life. It is a multiple system, with a fainter companion near it.
Although it carries the letter alpha, it is not the brightest star of Cancer; Tarf and Asellus Australis both outshine it. It sits on the ecliptic, the Sun’s path, so the Moon, and on rare occasions a planet, passes in front of it.
What you see in the piece
Fly to it in the piece and the Crab’s faint figure comes apart, its stars spread at different distances rather than gathered round the Beehive.
Questions
Is Acubens the brightest star in Cancer?
No. Acubens is alpha Cancri, but Tarf and Asellus Australis are both brighter in our sky.